The Hat
by Catindahat
Summary: Ever wondered how Merlin came to be remembered as an old man with a funny hat? Well it's all Arthur's fault...Arthur and that dreaded hat.
1. Part 1

**HAPPY BIRTHDAY EMILIEXOX! I hope you're having a good day! 18 at last! Here's your present, it may seem unfinished but remember Christmas is coming ;). Enjoy!**

**For everyone else this is slash so if you don't like don't read. Also this is a strong T (I don't think it quite makes M) in the next part just to warn you now. It's just a bit of silliness so I hope you like it. There is another part to come. :D Enjoy!**

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I feel I should introduce myself; to most people I am Merlin, sorcerer for King Prat...I mean Arthur. Though if you ask the druids then I am Emrys the most powerful warlock in the whole of Albion. However if you ask Arthur I'm just an idiot. Many of you probably know me as an old man with a long beard and pointy hat. I for one think this image of myself is highly unfair. I mean why does Arthur always get portrayed as the handsome king whilst I get to be the greying old man in the funny hat?

Personally I blame Arthur.

Why you may ask. Well other than the fact that everything is always his fault, though everyone else would tell you differently due to him being king and all (which in my opinion is a rubbish excuse), it all really started with The Hat (yes it does deserve capitals, it's that terrible). I mean his obsession with The Hat was unnatural, even for Arthur. Seriously that man can get obsessed over the smallest things for days on end whilst the rest of us just sit and watch in confusion. I've never understood how he manages to stay that obsessed, rule a country and unite all of Albion. Well all of Albion except for Tintagel but we're pretty sure that it's Morgana behind their resistance and it's only a matter of time till they fall really...but that's another story.

Anyway it is really down to The Hat that this image of me is going to end up as the one that sticks. How do I know this when I'm writing hundreds of years before this is going to happen? Well I was scrying to try and see how the ambush Arthur insisted on mounting against Tintagel (despite my warnings) was going to end. I thought if I could show him some hard evidence then he might listen to me for once, (you'd think being made his chief advisor would mean that he listened to me, but some things never change).

However my scrying abilities are...well rusty to say the least. I've never quite gotten the hang of it, Morgana was always much better than me at it, which is not great when she's the one we're mounting the attack against. And I got the calculations a little off (Gaiuswas always telling me that I should double check them before I started anything but it just takes so much time) and ended up seeing way too far into the future. Which was quite intriguing in some ways, but also confusing in others. I mean why would people travel around in metal boxes? And how do they even work? It must be some form of sorcery; though that's the only trace of it I've seen so far. Anyway I ended up coming across the legend of King Arthur and Merlin, and I am not pleased at how I am being portrayed. I've managed to track it back to its origin, which brings me back to my original point; it's all Arthur's fault.

x-x-x

"Merlin!" Arthur bellowed impatiently.

"What is it _sire_?" Merlin asked wearily as he entered the prince's chambers.

Merlinwaited for the inevitable rant from the prince. Arthur had been in a foul mood all day and so far Merlinhad managed to successfully avoid him, preventing the prince from venting his anger on his manservant. However there was no way he could escape this time. Arthur moved round behind him, closing the door, preventing any means of escape for the younger boy. Merlin sighed, making sure to keep Arthur in his sights at all times, not trusting him when he was in this mood.

He knew exactly what was wrong with Arthur and it wasn't even anything that the prince could realistically blame on him. Ever since Arthur's wedding to Elena had fallen through Uther had been determined to find a suitable bride for his son. Despite Arthur telling him that he would only marry for love Uther remained hopeful that his son would choose one as his bride. He seemed to be of the opinion that if he introduced Arthur to enough women then eventually he would 'fall in love' with one of them.

This had caused some tension, to say the least, between the king and the prince. Uther's frustration that Arthur still hadn't chosen and Arthur's annoyance that Uther insisted on throwing these women on him. There had been rumours that Arthur had already chosen a woman that Utherwouldn't approve off, however Merlin knew better. There was no _woman_ in the prince's life.

The most recent female at court was the Irish princess, Isolde. It seemed she had made it her mission to spend as much time as possible with Arthur, much to his disgust. Her simpering and cooing over him had made him much more irritable than he normally was when a potential suitor was in the castle. Merlin actually found it quite amusing to watch the prince suffer through a conversation with the princess who just prattled on whilst Arthur tried, and failed, to look interested. Or to see him hide from her as he spotted her wondering through the castle.

Needless to say Arthur did not find this whole thing nearly half as amusing as his manservant and he was less than pleased about Merlin's reaction to everything. What he really wanted was sympathy and help to avoid her from his manservant. However Merlinseemed to be having great fun directing the princess in Arthur's direction. Frustrated the prince had decided he'd had enough of all this, if he had to suffer then so did Merlin.

"Where have you been?" He asked the brunette innocently.

Arthur watched the guilty look cross Merlin's face and knew he had been right, Merlin had been avoiding him. However he tried to keep his face impassive and waited for Merlin to speak. A smirk crossed the prince's face as he watched his manservant start to squirm under his penetrating gaze. He enjoyed the unease that was seeping from Merlin as he wondered how Arthur was going to react. Arthur briefly wondered whether he should put Merlin out his misery but decided that this was good payback for the enjoyment Merlin had been getting out of his discomfort.

"Mucking out your stables?"

Arthur snorted at the uncertain note in Merlin's voice. Even if he hadn't known that Merlin was lying, his tone would have given it away. Arthur marvelled at Merlin's complete inability to tell a convincing lie.

"I've just been down there and Conner is doing that." Arthur replied smugly at being able to catch Merlin out.

"Polishing your boots?" Merlin tried.

"My boots are here _Mer_lin." Arthur sighed, pointing at the pile of boots in the corner of the room that Merlin had yet to clean.

"Well then I was walking your dogs." Merlin replied adamantly.

Arthur scoffed at the complete ridiculousness of Merlin's words.

"Merlin there is no way you would voluntarily walk my dogs just to avoid me."

"I wasn't avoiding you!" Merlin exclaimed quickly.

"Of course not." Arthur replied sarcastically causing Merlin to glower at him.

"Well if you hadn't been a moody prat all week then I wouldn't have felt the need to avoid you." Merlin protested stubbornly.

"So you're saying that it's my fault that I had some girl deliver my lunch who was so nervous that she spilt it all over the floor and that my room is a mess and that I've had to put up with Isolde practically hanging off my arm all day when I'd much rather be spending time with my useless manservant?"

Arthur stalked towards Merlin as he spoke so that he was standing mere inches away from him. Merlin gulped as he felt Arthur's warm breath ghosting across his skin. Arthur smirked at the response he stirred in his manservant. From this position he marvelled at the way the light reflected of the younger boy's skin and the brilliant blue of his eyes. Though Arthur would never tell Merlin, he loved the other boy's eyes. There was something about them, as if he was seeing more of the world than everyone else.

"No?" Merlin whispered hesitantly, unsure if that was the answer Arthur was looking for.

If truth be told he was having problems making his brain work properly with Arthur this close. The blondeaffected him in ways that no one else ever had. The only problem was that Arthur knew exactly how he affected Merlin and constantly used it to his advantage.

"Are you sure about that?" Arthur asked in a low voice.

Merlin gulped again as he tried to control himself, fighting the urge to grab the front of Arthur shirt and crash their lips together. He gave up trying to formulate a sensible reply, deciding to let his eyes rove over the blonde rather than fight to make his brain work. It was a far more appealing option.

He flicked his tongue out to moisten his dry lips and saw Arthur's gaze drop to his lips, following his movement. Merlin smiled, realising that he might have managed to gain the upper hand. However his smile snapped Arthur back to his plan, giving in to his crotch was not going to help punish Merlin as he would definitely enjoy it way too much.

"Because I think you have been avoiding me. And I think you need to be punished for it."

Arthur's voice was low and he leantforward, whispering the last sentence into Merlin's ear. Merlinmoaned as Arthur warm breath tickled him and his lips brushed against his ear. He felt rather than saw Arthur pull back and start to move round him. However instead of continuing round him Arthur moved away and Merlin let out a noise of protest that he didn't really want to admit sounded quite like a whimper.

He turned around to see that Arthur had disappeared behind the open wardrobe door and seemed to be rummaging around inside of it. Merlin frowned as his brain tried to process what Arthur could possibly be doing. He heard the prince curse under his breath as he was seemingly unable to find what he was looking for.

"Arthur?" Merlin asked, his voice sounding a lot breathier than he would have like but at least he wasn't whimpering anymore, "What are you doing?"

Arthur however decided not to reply as he continued to rummage through the wardrobe, making a mess that Merlin would no doubt have to clean up later. Merlin took a step forward to help Arthur out when the prince straightened up with a triumphant smile on his face.

"Found it."

What he held in his hand brought Merlin firmly back into reality with an unpleasant crash. He took a couple of steps back from the blonde, shaking his head violently.

"No Arthur. No way." The young warlock protested adamantly.

The smiled never left Arthur face as he started to move back towards Merlin.

"What makes you think you've got a choice?" Arthur replied.

The tone of his voice made Merlin realise that Arthur was completely set on this and it was going to take him a hell of a lot to get out of this.

"Please Arthur, I'm not wearing that. Once was bad enough."

His back connected with the wall behind him and Merlin realised that he had run out room to escape the prince.

"Well you should have thought of that earlier then shouldn't you?" Arthur replied calmly, reaching Merlin.

With nowhere to go Merlin had no choice but to allow Arthur to place The Hat on his head. The feather dangled annoyingly in his face as Arthur adjusted it, a smug smile on his face the whole time.

"Perfect." Arthur said, smiling fondly this time as he surveyed him.

He brushed the feathers out of Merlin face with a smile and leant to capture Merlin's lips with his own, wiping the disgruntled look off his face. He pulled back slightly to see that Merlin's eyes had softened, although he still looked mutinous.

"Beautiful." Arthur whispered.

Merlin's eyes widened in surprise. That was the last thing he had expected Arthur to say. He searched the prince's face for some sign of teasing but found none. He smiled back fondly and Arthur, relishing the moments they had together.

However Arthur had to go and ruin the moment by flicking the feather back into Merlin's face making him sneeze, clearly deciding it had gotten too personal for him. Merlin didn't take it personally, he knew that Arthur wasn't exactly comfortable at expressing his feelings. What he did take personally was the fact that Arthur had moved away and seemed to be preparing to leave.

"Arthur? Where are you going?" He asked.

He had not been expecting Arthur to leave. In fact what he had expected had involved Arthur much closer to him than he was now and wearing much less clothes. Much to Merlin's despair however Arthur seemed to be putting more on as he slipped his arms into his jacket.

"I have to be at dinner with father and Isolde because father seems to have decided that, seeing as we're spending so much time together, he should get to know her better, which for some reason involves me being there." Arthur said causally.

He caught sight of Merlin's pout as he turned back to face the warlock.

"Don't look at me like that Merlin, this is all your fault." Arthur smirked, "Oh and I expect you to be serving me. Make sure you remember the hat."

"And if I accidentlyforget it?" Merlin asked mutinously.

"Well I can't force you to wear it." Arthur said with an evil smile, "But abstinence is always an option."

Merlinglared defiantly at the door that Arthur had just exited out of. It seemed that Arthur was going for total revenge. He considered his limited options; wear The Hat or suffer without Arthur until the prince decided to give in, which, if Arthur put his mind to it, could be a while. Merlin knew he deserved this as he had been making sure to point Isolde in the direction that he knew Arthur would be all week but that didn't mean he had to be happy about it.

"Sometimes I really hate you." Merlin muttered rebelliously at the closed door, knowing that there was no way Arthur could hear him and that he was just talking to himself.

-x-

Merlin stormed down the corridor to Arthur's room angrily. He was in a foul mood after the meal he had just had to endure. He had gone for wearing The Hat, deciding it was the lesser of the two evils. However the moment he had entered the kitchens he had wondered whether that was actually true. Gwen had taken one look at him in The Hat and had nearly dropped the platter she was carrying she was shaking with laughter so much. It seemed that his appearance was no less amusing the second time round. Everyone's reactions had mirrored Gwen's and he found himself flushed crimson with embarrassment by the time he entered the Great Hall carrying Arthur's food.

He had approached Arthur's side and placed the plate in front of him without making eye contact with anyone. However the snort he heard coming from his left made him look up just in time to see the king choke on the mouthful of drink that he had just taken. He closed his eyes in despair as he backed away, but not before he heard the squeal of shock that Isolde let out.

Moving to take the jug from the serving boy struggling to keep a straight face, Merlin had taken up his position behind Arthur ready to refill his glass. He threw a glare every now and again at Gwen who was stood opposite him and still shaking with suppressed laughter.

The meal had continued like that with Utherand Isolde shooting Merlinamused glances every now and again and his blush deepening. He managed to avoid Arthur gaze until he got up to leave and dismiss Merlin. Merlinhad expected amusement and smugness to be plastered over the prince's face however what he actually saw made him angrier than the others would have. Arthur smiled at him in complete self-confidence as if he knew absolutely that Merlinwas going to do as he asked. So frustrated that Arthur seemed to think that he knew everything about Merlinand could make him do whatever he wanted, Merlin missed the deeper look in Arthur's eyes as he smiled at him fondly.

So he had helped tidy up in the kitchens and was now storming towards Arthur's room, ready to give him a piece of his mind. In all his anger he had forgotten to take The Hat off and so was still wearing it as he burst into Arthur's rooms. However he was stopped in his tracks by the sight that greeted him. Arthur had been stood staring out of the window but had turned to face the door as Merlin came barging in. The young warlock's eyes travelled across the prince's body as he took in his shirtless state. However that was not what had stopped him.

The expression on Arthur's face was so open and loving that Merlin felt the anger draining out of him. He had never seen Arthur this open and it shocked him slightly. He saw the fondness in Arthur's eyes as they flickered up to The Hat.

"You're still wearing it." He stated simply.

Arthur smiled as he saw the faint pink tinge creep up Merlin's neck. He stepped forward as Merlin reached up to pull it off. Reaching him Arthur stilled Merlin's hand. He took in Merlin's appearance before reaching up and pulling The Hat of himself. Merlin was about to ask Arthur why he was so obsessed with The Hat but before he could he felt Arthur's lips press against his as he was manoeuvred towards the bed.

-x-

Lying tangled together in the sheets with his head resting against Arthur's chest, Merlin had to ask the question that had been bugging him all evening.

"Arthur what is it with you and that hat?" He asked.

Arthur paused for a moment, trying to find a way to put it into words.

"I don't know how to explain it really." He murmured into Merlin's hair, "I just like you in it, it suits you."

Merlin pulled a face, which Arthur couldn't see, and scoffed, which he definitely heard.

"Don't scoff at me." Arthur scolded lightly, "You look cute in it."

Merlin's frown deepened at that, he didn't really like the sound of it.

"Cute? Well that settles it; I am never wearing that hat again." Merlin said adamantly.

"_Mer_lin." Arthur whined, "I like it."

"Well you can't always have everything you like." Merlin admonished.

"You forget Merlin, I'm the prince of Camelot."

"And?"

Arthur poked Merlin in the side at his response causing Merlin to wince. Arthur frowned, his poke hadn't been that hard. He shuffled round, rearranging his position so he could see Merlin's side. He noticed that the young warlock had bruises along his hip and side. He sighed, Merlin was the clumsiest person that he knew but he had promised that he was being more careful. Clearly the evidence on his skin spoke otherwise.

"I thought you were being more careful."

"I am!" Merlin protested, "But your table hates me. I walk into the corner of it every morning."

Arthur sighed. He had seen Merlin in the morning and knew that he blundered around half asleep before he was able to function properly.

"I'll tell you what, when I'm king we're going to have a round table so that you can't walk into any corners."

Merlin smiled happily as Arthur started to trace delicate patterns across his hip. He closed his eyes, drifting off. But not before he had heard Arthur mutter.

"And a new hat to replace this one as you hate it so much."

x-x-x

You may all be thinking how sweet and caring Arthur is (and yes I suppose you would be right if you're thinking of the end) and wondering how this relates to anything at all. But it's all important. The events that follow are closely related to this I promise you (unlike what Arthur will tell you I am not getting old and losing my memory), and it is definitely Arthur's fault. Though to give him credit he did move that cursed table out of the way so that I didn't walk into it in the mornings. However (back to the point) this may not seem like much, but it is only the beginning...


	2. Part 2

**Merry Christmas guys! (Or happy holidays if you don't celebrate Christmas). So here is the final part that I promised would be up today. **

**Though I do have to apologise to emiliexox as this is her Christmas present and its not Christmas in Australia any more so I'm really sorry for that! In my defence I have crazy relatives shouting at me to get off my laptop and socialise and this is the first moment I've had to update. **

**Anyway on with the story. I really hope you enjoy the final part and I would love to know what everyone thinks. x**

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So my friends you are here for the rest of the story. Well if any of you are still thinking that Arthur is the perfect handsome hero after my last tale then you will soon be set straight as I stand by my claim, Arthur is entirely to blame (as always). I feel, before we start, that I should fill you in on everything that had happened between my last story and the one I am about to tell you. Well Arthur is now king (and even more of a prat) and he knows all about my magic. Telling you how that happened would take an age and isn't really relevant. Let's just say that I was avoiding Arthur for longer than a week this time, (man he can hold a grudge).

So it was nearing the end of Arthur's first year as king. I had been his court sorcerer and chief adviser for all that time (not that he ever listened to any of my advice) so it's not like he hadn't had time to bring this up beforehand. However it was then that he decided to set off the events that I have named The Return of The Hat...

x-x-x

"Merlin I'm bored."

The warlock sighed and looked up from his work to the whining king. Merlin had been studying more of the artefacts that they had brought up from the vault where Uther had confiscated them. There had been much more then Merlin had imagined and he had been examining them for the best part of a year and still hadn't gotten through them all.

Currently he was in what used to be his and Gaius' chambers, but when the elderly physician had retired at the start of Arthur's reign, Merlin had changed it into a workplace for himself. He was bent over an ancient jewel that he believed had the power to amplify a sorcerer's powers, muttering spells to help him discover its secrets. So absorbed in his spells Merlin hadn't heard Arthur enter however his words brought Merlin out of his reverie.

"Arthur I thought we had a deal." Merlin said with a sigh, "I wouldn't mess around in your council meetings and you wouldn't disturb me in here."

"Well I had to tell you something to get you to pay attention. It's hard to get things done when documents keep mysteriously disappearing and reappearing." Arthur pointed out.

Merlin smiled at the memory. He hated council meetings but as Arthur's chief adviser he had to be there. So was it really his fault if, to amuse himself, he had decided to move their documents around magically? The looks on the nobles' faces had been priceless as they tried to find the figures they were supposed to be presenting the king. Well they had been until Arthur had worked out what was going on. It was safe to say that he hadn't been amused.

Whilst Merlin had been caught in the memory Arthur's eye had been caught by the spear on the table to his left. Merlin had only noticed where Arthur's attention was heading in the nick of time. Muttering a quick spell his eyes flashed gold and Arthur found his hand blocked from reaching the spear by an invisible barrier. He turned to look at Merlin with a glare.

"You know I really hate it when you do that."

"It's cursed Arthur. So unless you wanted to spend the next ten years as a stone statue I suggest you don't touch anything else."

Arthur withdrew his hand swiftly at Merlin's words. Instead he moved over to where Merlin had turned back to his work and moved up behind him. Placing his hands on the warlock's waist Arthur leant down over him and whispered in his ear.

"What are you doing _Mer_lin?"

He smirked as he felt Merlin shiver beneath his touch, knowing exactly which buttons to press.

"Arthur I'm working." Merlin said, turning round to fix him with a glare, "Don't you have something you should be doing? I can't imagine that the King of Camelot has nothing at all he could be doing."

Arthur smirked at Merlin making his glare deepen.

"You're so cute when you're angry." Arthur murmured, increasing Merlin's annoyance, "I've got nothing to do that can't be done another time and I'm sure you could come back to this later. Why don't you come entertain me in our room?" Arthur practically purred in Merlin's ear.

"Arthur this is a very delicate process, I can't just leave it and come back later." Merlin tried to explain.

However Arthur wasn't listening. He pulled Merlin closer and moved in to kiss him. But after all the time they had been together Merlin was expecting it and, before Arthur could press their lips together, Merlin's eyes flashed gold. Arthur frowned confused as he felt himself being dragged backwards by an invisible force. However the moment he looked into Merlin's golden eyes the confusion vanished.

"Give me an hour Arthur, I'm sure you can find something to do to amuse yourself in that time." Merlin said with a huge smile as his spell pulled a glaring Arthur out the room and closed the door on him.

-x-

It was late evening by the time that Merlin managed to drag himself away from his work. He did have to admit that he felt slightly guilty for leaving Arthur for so long but he was sure that the king would have found something to do with his time; it wasn't like he had nothing to do. He sighed as he approached the chambers he shared with Arthur, fully expecting to have to face Arthur's displeasure. Pushing the door open Merlin stepped into the room, scanning it for Arthur. He spotted him on the other side of the room, staring out the window.

Merlin took a moment to admire the perfect picture Arthur made with the sun setting behind him before he moved towards the king, wrapping his arms around Arthur's waist and resting his chin on his shoulder.

"That was a long hour." Arthur commented casually, not moving from his position.

"I'm sorry, I got sidetracked." Merlin replied apologetically, "It was important."

"I know." Arthur said simply before turning round to face Merlin so their noses were practically touching, "But it did mean that I had plenty of time to come up with your punishment."

Merlin pulled back slightly to inspect Arthur's face with a frown. The blonde was smiling wickedly at him, a mischievous glint in his eyes. Merlin felt his heart sink. He knew that expression and it never boded well for him.

"Arthur I'm not your manservant anymore, you can't just order me around."

"You may not be my manservant but I am still your king, I can do what I like."

Merlin rolled his eyes at Arthur's superior tome and tried a different tact.

"Last time you decided to punish me you put me in the stocks and we both know how well that turned out." Merlin pointed out.

A smile appeared on Arthur's face as he remembered what had happened. It was just before they had made that deal about council meetings. Arthur had decided that it had been too long since Merlin had been in the stocks and had attempted to put him there as punishment for causing chaos in the meeting, forgetting that Merlin was the most powerful warlock in all of Albion.

Needless to say it hadn't ended well. Merlin had humoured Arthur, letting him lock him in the stocks. But the moment Arthur had left, Merlin's eyes had flashed gold and he had freed himself. And then, for the next week or so, the rotten fruit that should have been thrown at him kept mysteriously appeared in some of the councillors' beds.

Merlin claimed that it had nothing to do with him; however it didn't escape Arthur's notice that it was all the councillors who disapproved of Merlin's rise from a simple peasant to court sorcerer and Arthur's chief adviser who had been the ones to receive the unpleasant surprise. Arthur had a sneaking suspicion that his bed would also have been filled with rotten fruit, as he had been the one to send the warlock to the stocks, if it hadn't been for the fact that Merlin shared his bed and didn't really want to inflict it upon himself as well.

"Yes but I've had plenty of time to think about it today and I have the perfect solution."

He kissed Merlin on the nose before moving towards the cloth bag that was on the table. Merlin frowned at the amount of dust covering the bag and wondered where on earth Arthur had dug it out from.

However when Arthur pulled out its contents, Merlin knew exactly where Arthur had found it; in the furthest corner of Arthur's old room where Merlin had hidden it. Arthur was smiling at Merlin broadly as he held up The Hat. Merlin felt the dread return to the pit of his stomach as he realised what Arthur's 'punishment' was.

"No way!" He said resolutely.

Arthur's face fell slightly at Merlin's words however he wasn't going to be deterred.

"Well you don't have a choice." Arthur said firmly.

"But Arthur I hate that thing!" Merlin whined.

"You're not supposed to like it _Mer_lin. That's why it's called a punishment." Arthur stated resolutely, approaching him predatorily.

Merlin had a brief flashback to the last time Arthur had made him wear The Hat. He had stalked towards him in exactly the same way. However Merlin had learnt a few tricks of his own since then and wasn't going to fall for it this time.

"Come on Merlin." Arthur breathed in his ear, "You know you want to."

"You know what I do want to do Arthur?" Merlin replied in a low voice, wrapping his arms around Arthur's neck, "This."

And with that he pressed his lips against Arthur's. He felt Arthur smile against him, but he wasn't done yet. As Arthur's hands came to rest on his hips Merlin's eyes flashed gold and Arthur gasped as he could suddenly feel another pair of hands running down his chest under his shirt. He pulled back from the kiss and stared at Merlin incredulously. He could see that Merlin still had his arms around his neck but Arthur could still feel another pair of hands running across his chest even though his eyes were telling him there was nothing there.

However one look at Merlin's face told him everything he needed to know. The young warlock's eyes were blazing gold and a teasing smile graced his lips. Although Arthur would never tell Merlin, he loved it when Merlin's eyes changed gold. There was something about how pure it looked that always brought a smile to Arthur's lips.

However all of these thoughts were driven from Arthur's mind as the invisible hands reached his waistband and slipped beneath it. He let out a low groan at the sensation.

"Merlin!" He moaned, "What the hell are you doing?"

"It's a new spell I found in one of the books I was reading last week. And by the sounds of things it works perfectly."

Arthur's brain tried to some up with a witty reply but all sense seemed to have left and he could only grunt out;

"What sort of books have you been reading?"

Merlin's smirk grew at Arthur's comment and something told the young king that he didn't want to know. Instead he lent forward, capturing Merlin's lips with his own.

x-x-x

Needless to say my persuasion techniques worked like a charm and I escaped having to wear The Hat. (By the time I was finished with him Arthur couldn't even remember what he was punishing me for). However that was not the end of it, Arthur had more tricks up his sleeve.

x-x-x

Merlin woke up feeling groggy. He had spent the last couple of weeks organising the magical council. Despite the fact that it had been over a year since Arthur came to the throne and lifted the ban on magic there were still those who were wary of the young king and believed it to be a trap to flush all sorcerers out as his father had done during the great purge. It was taking Merlin a lot of work to persuade people that they weren't going to be punished for their skills. It did help that news had spread fast that Emyrs was at the king's side. Although Merlin disliked being referred to as Emrys it did help to persuade those who were less than convinced.

A group of Cornish Druids were due to arrive at Camelot at some point this week, they were unsure when, and so Merlin had been preparing everything for their visit with the help of the magical council he had set up, with Arthur's permission, to deal with all magical problems and threats. They were hoping to get the Druids on their side to help against Morgana's troops in the south.

As important as all this was it had also meant that Merlin had had very little sleep and had hardly seen Arthur over the past couple of weeks. Although he was not as grumpy as the blonde when he didn't sleep he still found his body protesting as he pulled himself out of bed. However a smile spread across his face as he spotted Arthur sat at their table eating breakfast. True to his word Arthur had demanded that they had a round table instead of a square one so that Merlin didn't walk into the corners. It had resulted in him having a larger round table made for him and his knights. Something about equality and no head of the table but Merlin hadn't really been listening, touched by the fact that Arthur had remembered his promise.

He took the seat across from Arthur with a sigh of relief, pulling the plate towards him hungrily.

"Morning sleepyhead." Arthur said with a smile.

Merlin grinned his goofy smile at him before turning back to his food. Arthur, who had finished his own, picked up the jug and filled Merlin's goblet with water. Merlin glanced up at him in surprise; the action was so unlike Arthur. However the prince just smiled back blandly. Merlin narrowed his eyes as he tried to work out what Arthur was up to but the prince continued to watch him eat with a smile.

Deciding that lack of sleep had made him paranoid Merlin turned back to his food, taking a deep swig from the goblet Arthur had just filled. Normally Merlin liked to fill their morning with inane chatter but this morning he was still half asleep and couldn't make his brain form anything that remotely made sense. As he ate Merlin felt himself growing wearier and his whole body started to ache. He sighed, maybe Arthur was right, maybe he was getting old.

Merlin sat bolt upright as that thought hit him. Getting old. The last time he had felt like this was when he had taken the potion to make him look like an old man so he could take the blame for enchanting Arthur and prevent Gwen's execution. He glanced at his hands and saw that they were aged and wrinkled. Lifting them up to his face he felt the wrinkles that had appeared upon his face.

His gaze fixed on Arthur and he saw that the blonde was struggling to suppress his laughter. Merlin's eyes narrowed as he realised who was behind his current predicament.

"I am going to kill you." Merlin replied slowly.

He got up and moved over towards the floor length mirror in the corner of the room. Standing in front of it he found an old man looking back at him dressed in his bedclothes. Merlin frowned as he realised that he didn't quite look the same as he had the first time he had taken the potion. Although his hair was still long and white and he'd magically grown an almost floor length beard, he didn't quite look the same and Merlin breathed a sigh of relief at that. He didn't really want anyone recognising him as the sorcerer who had enchanted the prince and then escaped. Arthur already knew it was him but Merlin didn't want anyone else making the connection.

"You know you can still tell it's you if you look closely." Arthur said with a smile coming to stand behind him.

"I hate you." Merlin sighed, "How the hell did you even do this?"

"Elaine gave me the potion." Arthur explain, "Don't worry she said it would wear off by then end of the day."

"I still hate you." Merlin muttered rebelliously, "Arthur I have so much to do today, how am I going to get anything done looking like this?"

"I have no idea." Arthur said with a smirk.

Merlin glared at Arthur in the mirror, he was enjoying this way too much for Merlin's liking.

"You know I could always make you grow donkey ears again." Merlin threatened casually.

He smiled as he saw the smirk drop from Arthur's face. However before the king could reply there was a knock on the door. A panicked look crossed Merlin's face, making the smirk reappear on Arthur's. Merlin shot the blonde a vicious glare and went to hide behind the screen as Arthur called;

"Enter!"

The door opened and Arthur's new manservant Dawson entered. Once Arthur had been crowned king and made Merlin his chief adviser and court sorcerer he had to find another manservant. Though, much to Merlin's disgust, Arthur seemed to prefer to get Merlin to use his magic to do his chores and so Dawson didn't have half as much to do as he had had to.

"Sire the Druids have arrived." Dawson told him, "They're waiting for you and Merlin in the great hall."

"Thank you Dawson, I will make sure he is there. That will be all." Arthur dismissed the young boy.

Merlin stepped out slowly from behind the screen, cursing under his breath. Panic was coursing through him. He knew that he had to be there to greet the Druids as the whole reason they had come was to meet the famous Emrys of their legends. He ran a harassed hand through his hair, trying to come up with a plan.

"There must be a way out of this." He muttered, "What did Elaine say when she gave it to you."

The smile had reappeared on Arthur's face as he surveyed Merlin.

"She said there was no way to break it other than to let it wear off." Arthur said with a smile, "I made sure of that."

"What the hell were you thinking?" Merlin yelled.

Arthur frowned at Merlin's aggressive tone.

"It was just a laugh Merlin." Arthur said slowly.

"Arthur we need these Druids support." Merlin said with a sigh, "We can't afford to mess this up."

"Well personally I think you look much more like the picture that the stories about you paint. At least we won't have to spend the first hour persuading them that you are who you say you are despite your age."

"No we're going to have to spend it persuading everyone else that it is actually me." Merlin said with a sigh.

Moving back to the mirror he surveyed his reflection critically. As Arthur came to stand next to him Merlin measured himself to him with a sigh. Normally he was a couple of inches shorter than the blonde but now he found himself taller than him.

"God Arthur has this thing made me grow as well?" Merlin asked in despair, "Now I don't even have anything to wear."

At that Arthur's mood seemed to pick up as he smiled and moved over to the bag that was lying by the door. Bending down he picked it up and threw it at Merlin.

"Here, this might help."

Merlin glanced at him suspiciously before opening the bag and peering inside. What he saw made his heart sink.

"You have to be joking." Merlin muttered as he pulled the contents out.

Inside that bag was a deep blue robe which, on its own wouldn't look so ridiculous. However it was covered in white stars and crescent moons. Merlin glanced up at Arthur's grinning face with a glare.

"I really hate you."

"Yes you've said that already." Arthur chuckled, "And I love you too."

Merlin sighed, realising that he didn't really have a choice. Muttering curses under his breath at Arthur Merlin grabbed the robe and moved behind the screen to change. Arthur smiled and settled himself in one of the chairs, waiting for Merlin to get ready.

With a sigh Merlin stepped out from behind the screen to present himself to Arthur. Arthur stifled a laugh as he looked at Merlin. The robe fitted perfectly and the deep blue of it matched Merlin's eyes as Arthur had planned. However he did have to admit that the warlock looked ridiculous.

"It fits well." Arthur said with a smile.

"You know if I was a suspicious person I would think you'd planned this." Merlin glared.

Arthur smiled innocently under Merlin's distrustful glare. The aged warlock sighed and moved towards the door.

"Wait a minute." Arthur called Merlin back as he was about to exit the room, "You missed something."

He grabbed the bag where Merlin had abandoned it and pulled out a hat. Merlin had thought The Hat was bad but this was almost worse. It was a tall pointed hat that matched the robe he was wearing perfectly.

"No way Arthur, that is too far." Merlin said adamantly.

"Well I did say we'd have to find a new hat replace the other one." Arthur replied innocently, "And if you don't want to wear this I'm sure I could find the old hat for you to wear."

"I don't know which one's worse." Merlin muttered rebelliously, glaring and Arthur's huge smile.

However Arthur looked at him with what could only be described as puppy dog eyes and Merlin found his resolve crumbling. Reluctantly he allowed Arthur to place the hat on his head, completing the ridiculous outfit.

"Well come on then." Arthur said imperiously as he swept past a glaring Merlin and out the room.

-x-

"My lord." The lead Druid, who had introduced himself as Gudwal, bowed to Merlin and Arthur.

Merlin had felt heat rushing to his face the moment they had entered the room. He had seen the shocked looks on those present who were from Camelot's faces as they were expecting to see Arthur enter with his younger self. However the moment Arthur had introduced him Merlin had seen many of them stifling laughter behind their hands. He had caught Elaine, a young druid who was a member of the magic council's, eye and had glared at her.

"_You are so going to pay for this." _He told her telepathically making her smile widen, much to his despair.

Merlin had listened to the discussions going on around him, joining in when his opinion was needed, however he had spent the majority of the meeting plotting revenge on Arthur and Elaine in his head. There was no way he was just going to let this go.

-x-

Later that evening the potion had worn off and Merlin had returned to normal age. He had ignored Arthur all day, adamant that he wasn't going to forgive him. Arthur had decided halfway through the day that actually he didn't like Merlin's new hat half as much as the old one. This had led Merlin to remain wearing it all day, even after he had changed out of the ridiculous robe, just to spite the king.

"For god's sake Merlin I said I was sorry will you just speak to me again already!" Arthur eventually snapped.

The pair of them were sat in their room looking at different reports, from all over the parts of Albion that had united so far, as to how they had fared throughout the winter. Merlin had refused to reply to any of Arthur's conversation starters and had even ignored Arthur's teasing comments that usually invoked a response from him.

"You didn't." Merlin said quietly without looking up.

"What?" Arthur asked, relieved that Merlin had finally spoken to him but not understanding what he was on about.

"You didn't say you were sorry." Merlin clarified.

"Well I am." Arthur announced.

Merlin however remained silent. Arthur sighed, he knew exactly what it was that Merlin wanted him to say and rolled his eyes at his partner's stubbornness.

"Fine I'll say it." Arthur huffed, "I am sorry."

Merlin lifted his head and looked at Arthur properly for the first time since the Druids had left, they had refused Arthur's offer of rooms in the castle, preferring to sleep under the stars. The warlock sighed. He knew that Arthur had just been messing around and he had to admit that some of the pranks he had pulled on the blonde had been just as bad, though he wasn't going to point that out now.

"Well I suppose I'll forgive you." Merlin said with an over dramatic sigh.

Arthur smiled as he realised that Merlin was serious. Merlin rolled his eyes at the way Arthur's face had lit up and smiled back fondly.

"Though if that image of me sticks because they've gone back home and told everyone that's what I look like I'm going to kill you."

x-x-x

And as you know, that image does stick as the druids tell the tale of Emrys the wise old man, and that's now how I'm remembered throughout history. So I think you'll agree that it was all Arthur's fault (and if you don't then he has clearly been bribing you not to agree with me). But don't go away thinking that this was then end of it all. I can hold my own when it comes to tormenting Arthur and I can assure you that I got my revenge.

**_The End_**


End file.
